Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Week 4. .Fast Fact Wednesday!

Today. .
I wanted to mention, briefly. .
Cain and Abel. .
1 John 3:11-12 mentions that we should not be like Cain. .
If you aren’t familiar with the Old Testament passages in Genesis that discuss Cain and Abel. .
I wanted to enlighten you a minute. .
If you want to read the story yourself. .
check into Genesis 4 this week. .
 
Cain was the first born son of Adam and Eve. .
many believe that, as the way the scripture is written. .
that Cain and Abel were twins with Abel being the second. .
As they grew up. .
Abel became a shepherd and Cain was a farmer.
Genesis 4:3 describes the big issue. They were to present a gift to God. .
Cain presented some of his crops to the Lord. .
and Abel gave the best of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel’s gift. .
but He did NOT accept the gift of Cain. .t
he bible doesn’t specify why not. .
and there are theories and speculations to why He didn’t. .
But the point that John is tying into Genesis is from verse 6. .
"Why are you so angry?" the Lord asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you do WHAT IS RIGHT. But if you refuse to do what is right, then WATCH OUT! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to CONTROL you. But you MUST subdue it and BE ITS MASTER.” (emphasis mine)
 
Those words were from the Lord OUR God Himself. 
It would be conceivable that Cain KNEW what was wrong with his offering. .
but he was pouting anyway. .
and using his free-will. .
to make the choice to do what CAIN wanted and NOT what He knew from God to be correct. Allowing that anger to take root. .
leads to jealousy and deeper anger. .
until we cannot even contain the sin. .
That’s why an unforgiving heart is so detrimental to our spiritual hearts (and why the bible references the important aspects of this often!)
 
As you continue to read the story. .
Cain harbored that anger in his heart even after God’s pretty explicit warning. .
The anger took root and grew. .
until Cain took Abel out to the fields and killed him. 
Cain was then questioned and punished by God. .
it’s really a fascinating story. .take a minute to read through it. .

So to finish up. .
here’s a couple excerpts from one of my study bibles on 1 John 3:12-15. .

Cain killed his brother Abel, when God accepted Abel’s offering and not his.
Abel‘s offering showed that Cain was not giving his best to God, and Cain’s jealous anger drove him to murder. People who are morally upright expose and shame those who aren’t.
If we live for God, the world will often hate us because  we make them painfully aware of their immoral way of living. .
John echoes Jesus’ teaching that whoever hates another person is a murderer at heart (Matt 5:21-22). Christianity is a religion of the HEART; outward compliance ALONE is not enough. Bitterness against someone who has wronged you is an evil cancer within you and will eventually destroy you. Don’t let a “poisonous root of bitterness” (Heb 12:15) grow in you. .or your church!!

 

And now. .
The moment you have REALLY been waiting for. .
Today’s fast fact. .

What are some of your favorite hobbies. .and raising kids doesn’t count!!  GOOOO!

I LOVE baking/cooking. .gardening. .antiquing. .traveling. .decorating. I’m a passionate person by nature. .and have a LOT of “loves”. .this CAN and HAS gotten me into trouble!!  Enjoy your day! 

4 comments:

  1. Well, I'm kind of a boring person... I like to read, crochet, watch sports, work puzzles, have movie marathons with my girls/Steve, work outside in my yard, go for walks, decorate for the Holidays.... yep kinda boring.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I LOVE to read, crochet, knit,(when I "slow" down in the winter), sing in catatas, promote & host country music shows, playing the guitar & singing the old country songs, play the piano, walk through antique stores & flea markets, watching birds, swim, & a lot of "dreaming" about flower beds of old...(not enough time to plant those beds anymore).

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for sharing about Cain and Abel - I'd read that before somewhere about them being twins. Thanks for your comments about not letting anger and jealousy take root, etc. Hobbies - knitting, crocheting, quilting, reading. Used to ride horses when I was younger, still would if I could. :) Have a blessed week!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Forgot about music, enjoy that, too.

    ReplyDelete